Tang incident highlights ‘vital’ local defibrillator

The critical role played by a community defibrillator was brought into sharp focus in the village of Tang last weekend when the life of a local man was saved after he experienced a sudden cardiac event.

ABOVE: Photo: Darren Mulledy.

The defibrillator which is located at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Tang, on the border with Longford, was brought to the man’s house and local off-duty paramedic, Darren Mulledy, helped to administer vital CPR until two crews from Athlone Ambulance Service arrived on the scene.

“Without what we call the ‘chain of survival’ being put in place immediately, and without the defibrillator, the outcome for this man and his family could undoubtedly have been very different,” said Mr Mulledy.

The ‘chain of survival’ has four crucial elements: ringing 999 to seek help; the administration of early CPR to keep blood flow to the brain and around the body; early defibrillation, and advanced life support/care.

“Luckily for this family, all four elements of the chain of survival were put in place immediately, but if there hadn’t been a defibrillator in the area we could have been looking at a different scenario,” admitted Darren, who is a founding member of the Ballymahon Defibrillator Group, and always carries around a defibrillator in his car.

When two crews from the Athlone Ambulance Service arrived on the scene in Tang on Saturday last, September 12, they took over the role of resuscitation, and thankfully their efforts were successful. The patient was transferred to University Hospital, Galway where he is currently being treated in the cardiac unit.

Darren Mulledy says Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) are “vital” in every community and it is very important that people are trained in how to use them in an emergency.

The Ballymahon Defibrillator Group is currently taking names for their free training courses on their Facebook page, and training courses will resume when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.